Palestinian Names His New-Born After Erdogan
June 7, 2010
Salah Abu Shamala, a Palestinian from Khan Yunis, has named his new-born baby after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.
“No Arab or Muslim leader has matched Erdogan’s brave words concerning the Palestinian problem. This Turkish Islamist leader is the only protector of the Palestinian people, as he is the only one who demanded to end the siege on Gaza,” said Abu Shamala in an interview with Hamas’s daily newspaper, Filastin.
Erdogan has won the Palestinian people’s sympathy in the last few days, following his harsh words concerning the Israeli operation against the so-called “Peace Flotilla”. The Turkish premier also announced he would personally lead a second flotilla toward Gaza.
In an attempt to win some popularity points as well, the Iranian regime has declared it would send – by the end of this week – two ships to the Gaza Strip, bearing humanitarian aid. The ships, said Iran’s Spiritual Leader Khamanai, would be escorted by military ships.
Reports also indicate that a boat from Lebanon is about to head toward Gaza, carrying Palestinian refugees. Another boat, carrying Jews from Germany, is also expected to make the journey.
Israel must decide NOW how to deal with these ships, and more importantly, how to address the world’s public opinion. Israel has already lost one media battle. Now it has a chance to plan ahead and recompense.
June 8, 2010 at 14:23
It is always disappointing to see the delay in the effective use of intelligence in PR to support military actions. Invariably there is a good reason why the timing of release if not suitable. We have seen time and again that early PR attacks are not based on accurate information but it gets the effect. I would always tend to trust that the release of intelligence to prove a point is designed to protect the integrity of the intelligence and the sources, and would not devalue the intelligence by making it public. I have no doubt that the real facts behind the flotilla will come out very soon as the situation escalates. The time will come to name and shame, but I suspect that there is plenty going on behind this. It is the escalation that now needs to be the focus of strategic attention. The Turkey position is disappointing as there was potential for long term positive outcomes for the region in the Israeli-Turkish relationship. Other questions arise from this regarding the Iranian involvement and the timing of this episode which seem to be planned specifically.